


Deal

by Lif61 (UltimateFandomTrash)



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Crack, Gen, Humor, Incorrect Quotes, POV Aang (Avatar), Post-Book 3: Fire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:08:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25499593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UltimateFandomTrash/pseuds/Lif61
Summary: Aang isnothappy with the state Zuko is in when he walks in late to the council meeting. He'd clearly put himself in danger, and Aang can't stand for it.
Relationships: Aang & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 208





	Deal

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this because a friend on tumblr pointed out some hilarious incorrect quotes to me. The post is made by @sokka-fuck-ya on tumblr, and all dialogue up until "you tried to fight a volcano" is from the post.
> 
> And yes, yes it was an Avatar crackfic that got me back to writing this month.

Aang gaped, jaw dropping so low he was sure it was about to hit the floor, when he saw Zuko enter the council meeting, late. But him being late was no longer the problem — though he and the other council members had been discussing it for much too long, and speculating that he was with Mai — and rather, it was the clothes he was barely wearing! Sure, he’d clearly had a whole, regal outfit… _before_ it’d gotten burned to a crisp! And it was still smoldering and smoking. Zuko just started patting himself down as he sat. Aang stared.

What—?

Then he listened, speechless, as his half-burnt friend (really, only half-burnt? He was like an undercooked pigchicken, if the pigchicken also happened to be the ruler of the Fire Nation) relayed the story of the assassin he had taken out.

There was nothing to say as the other council members began arguing, pointing out that they could’ve dispatched an elite team of fighters, or even a military regiment to take care of him. Zuko just brushed ash off his shoulders, and said in his gravelly voice, “You wanted him taken care of, and you weren’t going to do it yourselves—”

Aang could swear his face was going red. His voice came back to him, and he yelled, the force of airbending added to his tirade:

“ZUKO, I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’D DO SOMETHING SO RECKLESS!”

How could he? Why? Did he have the brains of a baby turtleduck? He was ruling a nation! He couldn’t just go after assassins. If anything, Aang had been going to do it, to pay him back for that time that Zuko had helped him with a cabbage dispute… but _seriously?_

Aang felt his brows contorting in his outrage.

Zuko just placed a hand facedown on the table, and sighed. He looked tired, but not from his fight. (But fire-fistfighting an assassin? Yes, that’s what he’d been doing. Insane.)

“It’s not that bad,” he told him. “Besides, you’re like, twelve, you don’t have to worry about this.”

There were plenty of words to shout at him that would back up Aang’s side of the argument, but for the life of him he couldn’t find them. Only _TWELVE?_ He was on the council, he’d saved the world, he was helping put it back together, he’d managed to beat Zuko in fights plenty of times, and not to mention: _he was now thirteen._ Why, he should fling some fire at him right now and see what he thought of it. Or water. That could throw him for a spin.

Aang, trying to rein in his anger, did nothing. Or he thought he did, but next thing he knew he was standing, hands balled into fists.

“ _Only twe— I was the one who— No, you know what? I’M CALLING YOUR GRANDFATHER!_ ”

Every council member was staring at Aang like he was now a two-headed pentapus, but he ignored it.

Zuko’s eyes widened drastically, and he held out a placating hand.

“WAIT, NO, AANG, I’M SORRY!”

Aang climbed onto the table, seeing there was plenty of room there; sat down, legs crossed; put his hands together; and closed his eyes.

“TOO LATE.”

And then he focused, calling on a particular person from his past life. Now with Aang having his chakras unblocked and having mastered the Avatar State, Roku was all too willing to show up. He sighed and shook his head, declaring such a thing foolish, but then Aang pointed out who Zuko was to Roku, and who he was now to Aang. He was family, a friend, so the almighty, dignified previous avatar took over.

While Aang still sat and meditated, it was Roku’s body that stood at the table before Zuko. His impressive presence seemed to have everything else in the room darken, as if he was the most powerful light, and all other souls found their balance under him.

His voice echoed through the chamber, Zuko wincing and cringing, and doing every other thing that went along with shame, discomfort, and frustration: “ZUKO, I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’D DO SOMETHING SO RECKLESS!”

Everyone stared. One of the council members slid from his cushion, and promptly passed out, foaming at the mouth. Two others looked down at him, before ignoring him, deciding he’d be okay. But the rest were staring open-mouthed, and slack-jawed at Roku. And then Zuko. Then Roku. Zuko. Roku.

Roku was…? A shrill, high-pitched sound left one of the council members as the two most powerful men of the Fire Nation stared each other down — Roku still held sway despite his death decades before.

Zuko found his footing, and soon he shouted, though still held himself back physically from Roku, “YOU TRIED TO FIGHT A VOLCANO!”

Roku faded as Aang started guffawing, losing his concentration. He laughed so hard he curled up on his side on the table, and flung air at the council members who were still sitting, upsetting their clothes.

Aang eventually sat up, and wiped the tears from his eyes, but Zuko was still laughing heartily with him. Everyone else backed away, as if they thought their world leaders had finally cracked under stress.

“He did try to fight a volcano, didn’t he?” Aang asked, laughing again at the thought.

The demise of Roku wasn’t funny, he told himself. It wasn’t a laughing matter.

But Zuko had a point.

The Avatar and the Fire Lord laughed some more.

Finally, there was an awed “what?” from one of the council members, and Aang and Zuko didn’t bother explaining.

“You were pretty stupid,” Aang told him, as they went to each other, and embraced as friends. “Did you have to kill that assassin?”

“You’re asking if I had to kill a killer? Aang, _that’s_ pretty stupid.”

They were leaving arm in arm, the council not knowing what to do, and Aang could care less.

“We’re both stupid.”

“Like a spiderfly.”

“My lords, what about the meeting?” a tentative voice soon asked, as they popped around the door.

“Tomorrow,” Aang and Zuko answered together.

“But—”

Aang threw a hand back, twirled his wrist, and airbended the door closed. It slammed shut, and he and Zuko laughed again.

“Roku. Really?” Zuko challenged.

“Yes, really.”

“Fine, then I get to pull Katara over here when you give me a hard time.”

Aang stopped dead. “Katara’s not my _grandparent_.”

“No, but she’ll kill you and then everyone else if she finds out you put yourself in danger. So… next time.”

“How about we just get into danger together?”

Zuko stopped to think about it, and then bowed to Aang, an amused smile alighting his face.

“Deal.”

Aang bowed back.


End file.
